Prince Harry's Big Payday In UK Legal Battle May Save Meghan Markle's Hollywood Dreams

The royal family is no stranger to suing the press. In particular, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex has become embroiled in multiple legal proceedings. In December 2023, Harry won a lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers. The prince's resulting court victory resulted in a payout of $177,000. That case involved allegations of phone hacking, something it had in common with Harry's January 2025 court case against News Group Newspapers. However, instead of being decided by a judge, this latest case ended with a settlement. Harry accepted a purportedly significant eight-figure sum: possibly more than $12 million, according to People.

This serious chunk of change is likely a boon for Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. As they've worked to earn money outside of the royal family, their ventures have had varying levels of success. For instance, their contract with Spotify ended abruptly, and a podcast deal with Lemonada hasn't gotten off the ground. As for Meghan's American Riviera Orchard enterprise, some aren't particularly confident about the lifestyle brand. "It's such a kind of hucksterism," a Montecito denizen informed Vanity Fair. "It's just finding every way she can to monetize something."

Harry and Tom Watson, a United Kingdom politician, were the last two plaintiffs to accept a settlement. According to Harry, 1,300 people settled, leaving him more determined. "One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability because I'm the last person that can actually achieve that," Harry explained to The New York Times in December 2024.

Eventually, even Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, may have decided that his pursuit of justice within the courts was too cost-prohibitive. According to United Kingdom laws, if he had been victorious and gotten less than that reported $12 million settlement, the prince may have had to take his winnings and subtract the costs of all the attorneys, resulting in a substantially smaller payout. To make matters worse, it could even have caused him to accrue a massive bill. According to The Washington Post, some hypothesized that if the trial dragged on, millions of pounds could have been spent on the judicial process.

Even though he pivoted on his method, the prince did receive a detailed, public apology from News Group Newspapers. "NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life," the organization said in a statement (via The New York Times). It went on to detail reprehensible behavior involving the News of the World. Harry's hateful relationship with the media has longstanding ties to his childhood, and the statement acknowledged this fact, extending its remorse to actions involving Princess Diana. "We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages."

Tom Watson, Harry's fellow plaintiff in the case, praised the duke's steadfastness and indicated that he feels their goal has been achieved. "[Harry's] bravery and astonishing courage has brought accountability to a part of the media world that thought it was untouchable," Watson remarked (via People).